I’m 37 years old and come from a large family of seven kids. My mom thinks I’m a wimp because I only had four. Now that my children are all school age (oldest is 13, youngest is 6) I have moved on from being a small scale home child care provider to working outside our home part time when the kids are in school. I do the state reporting for a local school district and am also a substitute teacher’s aide in Special Education classroom. I absolutely love my job and my coworkers am so grateful to have it.

I have been married to my best friend, soulmate and the love of my life for four years. I’m so thankful for his love, support and companionship.

Hobbies: I love the outdoors; hiking, swimming, sunbathing, camping, fishing… just everything outside. :) I love cooking, especially baking, interior design and discovering and understanding as much of the beautiful and miraculous metaphysical/spiritual realm that I possibly can.

YOUR KETO JOURNEY:

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN KETO?

About 2.5 years

HOW DID YOU COME TO THE KETO WAY OF EATING?

I have struggled with PCOS/insulin resistance for the last 10 years. I have tried every diet in the book between my pregnancies and nursing my children to get and stay at a healthy weight and either because I was not able to be consistent with it or it just didn’t work for me, none of the other diets or ways of eating gave me significant or lasting results. I learned about keto, tried it and it worked… so I‘m in it for the long haul.

WHAT KIND OF RESULTS HAVE YOU GOTTEN FROM EATING KETO?

I lost 50 pounds in a year and have kept it off by sticking to 20-30 net carbs per day and keeping protein to no more than 15-20%.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY SETBACKS OR CHALLENGES IN YOUR KETO JOURNEY?

My only real challenge was that I am pretty sensitive to the insulinogenic effects of protein. Probably due to my insulin resistance/PCOS. I just can’t eat as much protein as some and still keep my insulin/blood glucose levlels down and my ketones up. Once I realized and accepted this, I have adapted to it and it’s not really a big deal.

LET'S TALK ABOUT FOOD!

WHAT ARE A COUPLE OF YOUR GO-TO KETO MEALS?

My favorite keto meals are the simple ones that remind me or somewhat replace non keto favorites of mine, like a “cheesewich,” just using sliced cheese for bread and adding mayo, meat, mustard, etc. Simple, quick and delicious!

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KETO ESSENTIALS YOU ALWAYS HAVE ON YOUR GROCERY LIST?

Some things I always keep in the house are:

Macadamia nuts

Pecans, cheese

Coconut oil

Grass fed butter

Avocado

Eggs

Stevia

Coconut flour

Almond flour

WHAT SITES, BLOGS, IG PAGES, FACEBOOK GROUPS, ETC… DO YOU GO TO FOR INFORMATION AND/OR INSPIRATION?

For food ideas and support I pretty much just hang out on IG. I make up a lot of my own recipes because it’s fun for me but also enjoy trying recipes that my IG family has tried and love as well.

WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 TIPS YOU WOULD GIVE TO A KETO NEWBIE?

Hmm… I don’t know about three, but I would encourage keto newbies to make sure they are getting enough fat. Many of those that are new to LCHF forget that moderating protein is also just as important as the low carb and high fat aspect as protein (which can be converted into glucose (sugar) in our bodies through the process of gluconeogenesis. Protein can also raise our insulin levels which causes us to store fat rather than burn it.

YOU CAN ONLY EAT 5 KETO APPROVED FOODS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT ARE THEY?

Chicken thighs with skin

Coconut oil

Butter

Macadamia nuts

Pecans

EXERCISE! DO YOU DO IT?!

DO YOU EXERCISE IN ADDITION TO YOUR KETO WOE?

I exercise to keep toned and strong and to help manage my insulin resistance. I don’t feel it’s necessary for weight loss or keto success. I do the 5 tibetan rites in the morning (multiple reps of 5 yoga based movements) for their balancing, grounding and meditative benefits. I also try to do lower body heavy lifting (3 sets of 8-10 reps to failure) a couple of times a week and high intensity interval training once a week. This is usually a “Peak 8” style HIIT workout either on my recumbent bike indoors or sprinting/lunging/jump squatting on the hills near my house when the weather permits.

At this point you can make muffins, one cake in a large loaf pan, or cook separated batter in individual well buttered mini loaf pans, as I did, to make layers. The cooking time will vary for the different preparations, if you bake it altogether in a loaf pan, it will likely take at least 35 - 45 min.

Cooking temp: 350

FROSTING (I recommend doubling this frosting recipe and cashew frosting would be a great Paleo alternative)